Trump unites Israelis in support of his statement on Jerusalem

Yahoo News:

If nothing else, President Trump’s recognition this week that Jerusalem is what the Israelis say it is — the capital of their country — managed the impressive feat of bringing together Israel’s famously contentious political parties, which with (almost) one breath, responded: at last. But at the same time, it highlighted differences with mainstream American Jewish groups — and, predictably, set off protests by Palestinian Arabs and drew a warning about a “third intifada.”

The reaction to Trump’s speech, which also marked the start of what will be a years-long process of moving the American embassy from its present home in Tel Aviv, demonstrated that Jerusalem — where King Solomon had his temple — is a topic that cuts across political lines in Israel. And even as divisions have persisted about questions such as the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, parties across almost the entire spectrum have coalesced behind the view that Israel should retain sovereignty over the entire city.

In anticipation of Trump’s announcement on Wednesday, Yair Lapid, head of the centrist party Yesh Atid (There Is a Future), said: “This is also the time for the entire world to recognize united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.” Even Avi Gabbay, the newly elected leader of the Israeli Labor party, stated that he believed Israel should retain control over the entirety of Jerusalem: “Jerusalem should be united under our sovereignty.” Yet he also expressed hope that the American president’s decision would breathe new life into a moribund peace process: “I hope that along with the recognition, the American administration will take steps in the Middle East to restart the peace process. It can happen. We should see it as something that can inspire negotiations.”

And, of course, the Israeli right was quick to applaud Trump. In a video released on social media after the president’s speech, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared the announcement to monumental events in Israeli history, such as the Balfour Declaration, a 1917 white paper by the British government often considered the foundational document of the modern State of Israel.

And the far-right religious-nationalist Jewish Home party has responded to Trump by pushing an amendment to the 1980 constitutional law that codified Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Jewish Home Party amendment would require any concessions of parts of Jerusalem to be approved by a two-thirds majority in Israel’s parliament. Naftali Bennett, chairman of the Jewish Home party and the current minster of education, said: “For 25 years, talks of peace failed because they were always based on the illusion of carving up Jerusalem. This week, President Trump took a bold step toward peace, making it clear Jerusalem is Israel’s capital.” The bill, he said, “will guarantee no changes are made in our united and eternal capital without broad consensus and support.” The final vote for the bill is scheduled for Monday, just five days after Trump’s announcement.
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There is an over 3,000-year historical record supporting the Israeli claim to Jerusalem as its capital.  It is hard to find any historical record of a Palestinian claim to Jerusalem, beyond their religious bigotry and ethnic hatred of Jews.  Jordan did illegally occupy part of Jerusalem after teh 1948 war for independence, but it was subsequently defeated in the Six Day War when it along with other Arab states attempted to annihilate Israel. 

It is frankly hard to understand why anyone opposes Israel's claim to Jerusalem.  It requires willful ignorance of history supported only by ethnic hatred.  It is the equivalent is German claiming ownership of Paris because they held it for a few years after a military invasion.